Apparatus for regulating wax-sweating systems



July 1927" s. s. AMDURSKY -APPARATUS FOR REGULATING WAX SWEATING SYSTEMS Filed Oct- 9, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5. S. AMDURSKY APPARATUS FOR REGULATING WAX SWEATING SYSTEMS Filed Oct. 9 192 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ill Patented July 26, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL S. AMDUBSKY, OI ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, AS SIG NOR TO THE TAYLOR IN- STRUMENT COMPANIES OI ROCHESTER, NEW .YOBK, A. CORPORATION OF NEW YQBK.

arrana'rus roa naenm'rme WAX-SWEATING sxsrai ls.

Appllcation fled October 9, 1923'. Serial No. 867,499.

This invention relates'to processes and apparatus for regulating wax sweating systems in which the crude or slack paraflin wax or the like is subjected to a heat treatment for progressively melting out the contained oil by-products. and finally the pumfied wax or scale having a desired me ting point. The chief object of the inventior. is to provide an eflicientprocess and apparatus for accomplishing this result with a maximum percentage yield of purified wax or scale having a minimum oil content with the least practical expenditure of.' time, heat and labor.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will bev hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

in the drawings:

Fig. l is a sectional elevation illustrating apparatus embodying and employed in carrying out the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the sweating pans 'on the line 2"2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is asectlonal elevation on the line e -3 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation on the line i -4 in Fig. 1

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

The invention is carried out and embodied in the presentinstance, by way of illustration, in conjunction with a common form of wax sweating apparatus shown in the drawings as comprismg, preferably, a con-' taimng means, or sweating house proper,

shown at 5, Fig. 1 and spaced therefrom an apparatus house. 6. 'The sweating-house is constructed as a simple enclosure or room adapted to be made substantially air tight by closing all openings such as doors and windows and located therein are one or more and preferably, a series of race tacles in the nature of metal pans 7 whic may be conveniently stacked one above the other in spaced relation as shown on supporting standards 8 at the corners. The pans may conveniently have a size a proximately 20 feet wide by feet long an about 10 inches deep, with a dished bottom draining through adischarge outlet 9, such outlets being conveniently connected by piping not shown) individual branches 13 for the different pans for supplying a temperature controlling medium, such for example as cold water or hot water or steam, to the heating coils. The returns'from the lattenare united by piping connections of. any suitable arrangement, omitted from the drawings for the purpose of elearness, with a common return pipe 14, the temperature controlling medium being circulated through the pipes 12' and 14 and the pan coils 11 by means hereafter described. Means are also provided for heating the sweating house, such, for example, as the radiators 15 supplied with a temperature controlling medium through a common supply pipe 16 and having a common discharge pipe 17. Steam isemployed-in the present instance for heating the sweating house -by means of these'radiators and is supplied to the latter as hereafter described.

With the use of apparatus such as described above, the sweating process is begun by filling the pans 7 with cold water to the level of screens 10 for which purpose a water supply nozzle may be provided if desired for each pan. The crude or slack wax which may for present purposes be considered as'of the variety containing paraflin to be extracted, is heated above its melting point and then poured into the pans in which it floats above the surface of the water at the level of the screen 10, sufiicient of the material being allowed to flow into each pan to cover the coils 11. In this manner, the crude material is disposed in a body, cake or plate of extended surface exposure and molded about the coils so that the latter are distributed interiorly throughout the body of material. Cold-water is then cir- ,while the sweating house is heated b such for example ashot water is circulated through the pan coils 11 to heat the material,

circulation of steam through the IttdlfitOI'S 15. The body of crude or slack wax in each pan is thus uniformly heated throughout interiorly b' the coils and exteriorly by the heating 0 the room, with the result that the oils contained in the material begin to melt out and drain to the bottom of each pan andthrough its outlet 9. In the production of parafiin an oil known as foots oil? 13 first obtained and collected in a suitable vessel, its temperature being tested from time to time, and when the latter reaches a predetermined degree as say, 80- de rees' F., the drainage or drip is diverte to another container for collecting oil of the next grade as for example, the paraflin by-product known as crude scale or rerunslack wax. The temperature of this is similarly tested until a de ree is reached corresponding to the upper fimitof its meltin point and the lower limit of the melting point of the purified scale or paraflin when the drainage isagain diverted. The heating process is con tinned and the drainage collected in a receiver for the parafiin which is then melted out of the pans.

' The process thus involves the progressive melting out from the cake of crude material of the oils of lower meltin point contained in and finely distributed in cells or pores throughout the cake and it'has been found thatin order to extract a maximum percentage of the oil the temperature of the crude material must be raised very gradually and uniformly throughout.' Any sudden or excessive increase in the temperature tends to melt out some of the paraflin and in addition tends to close up or seal the oil cells to such an extent that the final product contains a relative] high percentage of oil. In addition suc unnecessary increases in temperature involve the waste of steam. On the other hand if the temperatures are lowered the process is retarded and the material in thepans is chilled and its cells closed thereby arresting the escape of oil from the interior.

It has also been found that the rate of transfer of heat between the coils in the pans and the material molded about them in intimate contact is considerably higher than between the heated atmosphere of the room and the external surface of the material.

This is particularly true at the beginning of the heat treatment when the thickness and solidity of the material cake is greatest. As

house door or other openthe the thickness of the cake diminishes and its body becomes honeycombed with the melting out of the oil, the difference in the rate of transfer of heat diminishes and the temperature of the coils should be gradually raised until at the end .of the process it is nearly equal to that of the room. The temperatures of the coils and of the room are tained oils are pro ressivel melted out'at a maximum rate ma e possib e by the uniform maintenance of the body in a condition in which the oil cells or pores are kept facilitate its escape from the mass. result can however, only be accomplished by a very delicate and automatic regulation of the heating process, for which purpose the 0 on to iich a Ull invention comprises also the following appai'atus in addition to that described above. Located within the apparatus house 6 is a water drum 18 with which is connected the supply pipe 12 leading to the coils in the pan. The return pipe 14 from the latter is also connected with the drum and a suitable pump 19 is located in the system, in the present instance in the line'12 for maintaining a circulation of the water throu h the coils. The water in drum 18 is heate by the injection of steam supplied through a pipe 20 controlled by an automatic valve 21 preferably of the well known diaphragm variety operated b a pipe 22 leading from a regulating device 23. The latter may be of any suitable or well known type comprising combined time and temperature responsive mechanism controlling relay means a for operating the valves, such forexample as that disclosed in the co-pending app ication of Harry Y. N orwood, Ser.-No. 521,222 filed Dec. 9, 1921-, for time control regulating apparatus. Ap-

fluid pressure supplied throughparat-us of this eneral tiype is now well known so that a detailed escri tion of the same appears superfluous furt er than to state that it comprises a time train and thermostatic means conjointly controlling an operatmg relay such as the fluid pressure system s own. .7 Fluid pressure is supplied to the'device through a pipe line 24 from a erating valve 21 comprises a thermometer bulb 23 located in the pipe 14 and connected with the devlce by a capillary tube 26. By

this means the temperature of the water su plied to the coils in the pans is accuratel controlled by cont-rolling the supply of steam to the drum 18 so that the coils may be given a temperature maintained or varied as desired during the process.

The regulating apparatus comprises also, in combination with its timing mechanism, thermostatic means having a thermometer bulb 27 preferabl of the known capillary variety extended t rough the sweating room 5 to measure the average temperature therein, and operatin to control an air line 28 leading to a diap ragm valve 29 in the pipe 16 supplying steam to the radiators 15. By this means the temperature of the sweating room may be accurately regulated throughout the process as desired. By employing different cam or other actuating parts in the regulator timing mechanism for the pan coils and room heating means, respectively, as well understood in the art, the temperaturesattained by these parts may be regulated in the relatively converging relation already described for efliciently accomplishing the desi'redresult.

At 30, Fig. 4 is a: known variety of pressure re ator comprising a diaphragm valve control ing the steam supply lineand connected by a pipe 31 with the fluid pressure line 24. A second connection 31 transmits the pressure of thesteam line to the pressure regulator for'automatically regulating the ressure in the steam connection'20 for heatmg the drum 18 and also for automatically shutting off the suppl of steam entirely in case of failure of t e fluid pressure supply for operating the regulator relay 22. Similarly the line 16 for supplying steam to the radiators of the sweating room is controlled by a diaphragm .yalve 32 having, a

-in drum'18 heated by t fluid pressure connection 33 with the main fluid pressure supply line 24 for shutting off the suppl of steam to the "radiators 15 also in case 0 failure in the fluid pressure supply. At 34 is a water make-up line for the drum. 1

In the operationot the apparatus, after the crude material in fluid condition is poured into the pans as described above, cold water from drum 18, or from adifl'erent source of supply, if so desired, is circulated through'the pancoils to cool the material. When the latter has become solidified, the water drained from the 1pans and the water e suppl of steam thereto, hot water is then suplp ied tothe pan coils'and steam to the ra i start the heat treatment. The latter is then ators 15 tocontinued automatically .by the apparatus as already described in connection with the description of the process.

The invention thus provides .also a practical and effective apparatus adapted to antomatically carry out the above method in a reliable and accurate manner with a saving in time, heat, energy and labor'as well as an ifnprovementin the quality of the products not heretofore attained. I claim as my inventions I. In apparatus for heat-treating wax, the

combinatlon with an open container for receiving confin1ng-the atmosphere surrounding the container, heating means arranged to dis tribute heat through a body'of wax occupying the container, means for supplying heat to the atmosphere surrounding the container, means for separately contro ling the temperature in said heat distributing means and the temperature of the atmosphere surround ing the container, and means .for interdependentlymperating sa-id controlling means to gradually increase the temperaturein said heat-distributing means and the temperature the wax to be treated, of'means for of the atmosphere surrounding the container at different rates. i

2. In apparatus for heat-treating wax, the combination with an open container for receivin the wax to be treated, of means for confining the atmosphere surrounding the container, means arranged to distribute heat through a body of wax occupyin the container, meanssupplyling heat to t e,atm0sphere-surrounding t e container, and means for automatically regulating the tem erature of said heat distributing means an the temperature of the atmosphere surrounding the container, 0 erative to increase-the temperature of the cat distributing means at a greater rate than the temperature of the surrounding atmos here.

a 3. In apparatus or heat-treating wax, the combination with an open container for receiving wax to be treated, of means for confining the atmosphere surrounding the container, means within the container arranged to distribute heat through a body of wax occu ying the container, means for suppl. ingv eat to the atmosphere surrounding t e container, and'time-controlled means for antomaticall regulating the tem erature conditions within and without t e container, operative to increase the temperature within the container at a greater rate than the temperatureof the atmosphere surroundmg the container. v y

SAMUEL S. AMDURSKY.

Ill 

